NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) – Nacogdoches City Council voted unanimously Monday night to establish child safety zones across the city, banning registered sex offenders with minor victims from living within 1,000 feet of schools, parks, playgrounds and other places children regularly gather.
The move follows a similar ordinance adopted by the city of Lufkin and represents one of the most significant expansions of local sex offender restrictions in the area in recent years.
What the ordinance does
Under the new ordinance, registered sex offenders whose victims were under the age of 17 are prohibited from living within 1,000 feet of:
- Schools
- Day care facilities
- Playgrounds
- Youth centers
- Swimming pools
- Video arcade facilities
- Any other facility that regularly holds events primarily for children
The ordinance goes further than existing state law, which restricts residency only for offenders currently on probation or parole. The new local rules apply to all registered sex offenders in the city, regardless of supervision status.
Nacogdoches currently has 78 registered sex offenders living within city limits. Of those, 60 have victims under the age of 17, meaning they fall under the new restrictions.
Who is affected, and who isn’t
Sex offenders already living within a restricted zone will be grandfathered in and are not required to relocate.
The same protection applies if a new school or child-serving facility is built within 1,000 feet of an offender’s existing home. According to Nacogdoches City Attorney Jerry Baker, that scenario would not put the offender in violation of the ordinance.
“If a new school moves into a neighborhood, but someone has already established a residence, that’s not going to be a violation,” Baker said. “They won’t be in violation of the ordinance.”
However, any new placement of a registered sex offender within a restricted zone will be prohibited going forward.
What this means for police
Nacogdoches police say they have already been ramping up efforts to monitor sex offenders in the city ahead of the ordinance’s passage.
“We began a more proactive monitoring compliance check process so we’re more actively engaged with them,” said Bill Kennedy, Nacogdoches assistant chief of operations. “We’ve improved our internal tracking and data collection so we have a better sense of what this environment looks like.”
Under the new rules, any offender who enters the community and seeks to establish residency in Nacogdoches will be required to check with police first to determine whether their intended address falls within a child safety zone.
“If a new offender enters our community, they’re going to know whether or not they’re moving into a child safety zone,” Kennedy said.
What’s next
The child safety zone map will be reviewed and updated at least once a year to reflect any changes, such as new schools or facilities opening, that could affect restricted areas across the city.
Officials have not yet announced a specific effective date for the ordinance.
Copyright 2026 KLTV. All rights reserved.
————————————————
